English Explanatory Dictionary

even Homer nods

English dictionary entry

Meanings

proverb
  1. Even the most vigilant and expert are prone to error.

Pronunciation

en-au-even Homer nods.ogg

Word forms

even Homer nods even Jove nods even Homer sometimes nods Homer nods Homer sometimes nods Jove nods

Etymology

From even + Homer + nods (“be momentarily inattentive or inaccurate”), alluding to line 359 of Horace’s Ars Poetica indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus (“I become annoyed when the great Homer is being drowsy”). The English translation Homer nods has become standard following Pope (1709), but is due to Dryden (1677).

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on E Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary